Thinking about a VCT floor- Questions.

[sxk122]

Hi, new guy here. Anyone on Miata.net, Clubroadster, DFWmiata, or TeamZX2 may know me.

Anyways, My wife and I just bought a house and I finally have a garage. Finished the interior projects and some of the exterior projects so now it's time to work on the garage. I need to paint the interior, but other than that the walls are in good shape. The floor on the other hand is another story. There is a large crack running up the center, and at some point in the distant past the floor was painted. However it has peeled up in many places and is generally pretty worn. I had debated the ideas of roll out mats or an epoxy floor coating. However, after looking around here my mind is changing. The floor mats seem to be problematic for most people due to movement, staining, and durability. Epoxy floors have lots of prep work, moisture seepage can be an issue, and with hot tires there could be a pick-up issue. Then I saw the VCT tile floors. The tiles could lift, and they can stain, BUT replacing individual tiles isn't too hard ( done it at work in fact) and if you are relatively careful with spills and sealing the floor staining shouldn't be an issue. Plus, I love the idea of a checkerboard floor

For the questions-
I'm looking at the armstrong tile found at lowes, similar to this . Is this the best type of tile to use?

What specific adhesive are you guys using? The stronger the better.

What wax or sealing products are you using, and how are you applying it? I see some people putting a clear epoxy or urethane over the tiles, but I don't think I want to go that route.

Are you using a mechanical buffer?

Any tips?


Thank!
Simon


Sorry, I don't have any interior garage pics at the moment, but there really isn't anything to show....

 

[slickgt1]

Hi, congrats and welcome. Let me shift your attention in a different direction.

Fist.
Why go through "almost tiling" without actually tiling? You can get checker board tiles, porcelain, without all the maintenance required with VCT.

You can pick up tiles, for same price if not cheaper than VCT.

Yea you will have to thinset and grout, but you only need to do that once. And then you can use a wire disk on your floor to remove paint if you wanted too. Spills, sun, water, snow ice, oil gas, dropped ****, dragging jacks and parts will not be a concern.

Click link below to see an example.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95966

Jacks garage is right under my post.

 

[slickgt1]

Oh and replacing a broken tile, if that does happen, will be easy as well.

 

[sxk122]

I'm not opposed to tile, in fact I've tiled before I did the kitchen floor in my condo, and the backsplash here in the house so I have no aversion. I think of the VCT as being 'shinier' when waxed, and due to the lack of grout i figured staining would be less of an issue. Also, where are you finding gloss black and white 12" tiles for less than $0.70 a square foot?

 

[sxk122]

my last tile project

I will say I found using mosaic tiles on the wall to be a bit more difficult than laying floor tiles.... It's not perfect, but I think it came out pretty well.

 

[slickgt1]

Well you have options. On my garage, I used Epoxy grout. It has not stained at all. You can also go with dark grout to reduce the chance of some serious chemical stain SHOWING UP.

Jack Olsen got his tile for less than .50 sq-ft, ceramic. Mine was about $1. sq ft., but porcelain PEI5. A bit stronger. Look at HD and Lowes. Check out some tile stores. A lot of times contractors bring back unused tile, and they sell it at a huge discount. Mine was purchases while on sale.

Nice tile job. So yea, do it once with Tile, and you will never have any of the maintenance as with VCT.

Look around, you can deff get tile cheap.

 

[Rickster55]

It's not perfect, but I think it came out pretty well.

sxk122, I totally agree. Looks great!!!

 

[sxk122]

thanks rickster. the one place that bugs me was to the left of the sink between the wallplates. I couldn't get the tiles cut small enough to match the 'runs' so the grout lines don't line up vertically. It bugs me, but my wife says no one other than me will ever notice.....

Also, looking closer at the picture, the tiles look wonky on the left side of the counter.... however, I'm sitting at the bar right now and they aren't so i must have done something screwey with the camera....

 

[sxk122]

slick, i'll check out lowes and HD. if i can find porcelain or ceramic tile in black and white for less than $0.70 a square foot I'd consider going that route. Unfortunately, price affects most of my home projects-- part of the reason we went with the backsplash tile we did was it was $4.50 a sqf, less than 1/2 the price of the other 2 tiles we liked.

 

[slickgt1]

Dude go to Lowes. I was passing by yesterday. They have ceramic off white and off black/brown for .43 sq-ft. HD doesn't have **** compared to Lowes. They are right next to each other, lol. I should have taken pics. Stupid *** Lowes.com doesn't have anything for less than $1. Go to the store.

 

[NWwoods]

VCT works well if you're not planning Heavy industrial use on it. Light home mechanics works well, but you do always have to have the tile in the back of your head when approaching a project, and how to protect the tile if Necessary.
Keeping alot of wax layers is key...just like grocery stores or hospitals, etc. do.
If it damages and/or scratches, buff it down and re wax.
If no welding of a space shuttle in your garage is in your future, it would be fine. And looks damn kewl too.

 

[sxk122]

Slick-- Hmm... I'll go through Lowe's again. We have been looking at slate for another project, but I don't remember seeing any black/ white tiles for that price... If you are near it again grab me an item number. I do know Lowe's has a lot of things that are regional... I'm located in Texas, so stock here might be different.

NW-- No welding, and most of my mechanical work is pretty light duty.... think 'bolt on' modifications, brakes, oil changes, etc. Plus, it's Miata so it weighs nothing.

What wax are you using, and what application process? Are you buffing it? I saw your thread, and I really liked the transition strip. In fact that is one of the things that is tripping me up as I think of the tile. Tile and mortar is going to be between .25 and .5" tall.... what would I use to transition to the driveway?

 

[SteveB]

Miata you say.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/281382/1996-mazda-miata-mx-5/page-14


I used a vinyl strip to transition from the edge of the tiles onto the outside edge of my concrete floor. It was attached with contact cement and has held in place for over 5 years now.

 

[slickgt1]

Yea, next time I see this at lowes, i will take pics. Don't know if your supply in Texas is different, probably, but I doubt by a lot. I am in NYC so the tile supply here is immense. Might the why they are cheap. But I am sure if you go look there, at the tile section, the boxed stuff, you will find the cheap ones.

 

[sxk122]

Well, went to lowes tonight.... I'll research tile a bit more, but Lowes had nothing in a plain ish black and or white under $2.50 a sqf. The Armstrong Vinyl was just under $0.70 a sqf.

Steve.... you have an addiction, lol

And her first night her new garage